YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, WYOMING
Good morning, Wyoming! I've been wanting to visit Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons for years and the fun officially begins today. I am taking the entire week off from work and have plans to squeeze as much sight-seeing in as I possibly can.
So Day 1, here we go!
Getting to Yellowstone
I stayed in a boutique hotel in West Yellowstone that is just minutes from the west Yellowstone Park entrance. This is by far the best location to stay, but it's not easy. I tried booking here in June and there was just nothing available. At all. And housing as far as two hours from the park entrance was super expensive.
One perk of going in late September is that you can actually find housing because families are back home with their kids in schools, which limits a big part of the tourist population. The second AWESOME perk is the fall color, which I hit spot on during my time in Wyoming. Stay tuned for photos of incredible fall foliage!
Each day, I left my hotel super early and was greeted to the park waking up. Driving eastward into the park, I got a panoramic view of the sun rising. I watched steam from the hot springs and geysers waft into the air. It looked like campfire smoke, but smelled like sulfur. A thin blanket of fog floated just above the geo-thermal heated ground. And in some particular areas, the fog was so thick it felt like I was floating through air.
Mammoth Terraces
First stop was Mammoth Terraces, a concentrated area of approximately 50 hot springs. There are long scientific and geological explanations online about how these formations came to be. If you love this stuff, you can google it yourself. And for those of you who are bored with words like calcium carbonate and travertine and geothermal vents the same way I am, don't worry! I will spare you the details and delight you instead with photos.
What's most impressive (to me) about the following photos is how different the landscape is in each one, yet they are all taken from just a two mile loop. The formations change drastically in just a short distance.
Bunsen Peak
From Mammoth Terraces, I drove to the trailhead for Bunsen Peak. This is a short climb to a peak that gives you an eagle's view of Mammoth Terraces, although it's impossible to take a good photo showing the view.
Proof I was there :)
Total miles = 4.3
Total elevation gain = 1,248'
Peak elevation = 8,580'
Yellowstone Falls
From Bunsen Peak, I drove to Yellowstone Falls with zero expectations. Yellowstone Falls is called the "Grand Canyon of Yellowstone" and consists of two major waterfalls -- the upper falls are 109' high and the lower falls are 308' high, nearly twice as high as Niagara Falls.
I did a short trail that takes you to a lookout that is directly over part of the falls, which is cool. But you can't actually SEE the falls. So I hiked further down the canyon, trying to find a good spot to see the falls, but the canyon curved in such a way that you could never actually see the entire waterfall.
From my vantage point, I could see on the opposite side of the canyon a steep stairway zigzagging down the cliffside to the base of the lower falls. I had to do these stairs.
I got back in my car and drove to the other side of the canyon, searched AllTrails, and found Uncle Tom's Trail, which promised me a descent into the canyon with incredible views of the waterfall. I got there and ... the stairs are closed to the public. And seeing how rickety they looked from the other side, I assumed safety was the reason why.
I continued hiking along the rim until I finally reached Artist's Point and wow. THIS was the spot I had been searching for all along.
These pictures don't do justice to how deep the canyon is, how colorful the rocks are, and how thunderingly powerful the waterfall is. Keep in mind, this waterfall is 308' high ... and there is an observation deck with dozens of people on it, just above and to the right of the falls.
An attempt to capture the colorful rocks.
Here's the view from Artist Point. The photo below made the back of my 2021 Christmas card. :)
This view below is absolutely incredible. Remember, that waterfall is 300+ feet tall to give you perspective of just how big the canyon is.
Spent a lot of time in the car today driving around to the different site, but lots of fun and got to see some incredible views.